Sector Gamma AS Lowers Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sector Gamma AS decreased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 217,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 85,000 shares during the quarter. CVS Health makes up approximately 3.3% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $90,200,000 after buying an additional 66,244 shares during the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its holdings in CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 11,468 shares during the period. Finally, B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $68.71 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day moving average of $57.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.